FIVE PAST MIDNIGHT IN BHOPAL

'Dominique Lapierre and his co-author Javier Moro (in a fluent translation from the French by Kathryn Spink) write without hyperbole but with a compassion which is all the stronger for being understated. FIVE PAST MIDNIGHT IN BHOPAL is peopled by heroes and villains, whose lives are woven into the fabric of a book which switches frequently and tellingly from a technical but gripping analysis of a mega-disaster to a vivid and informed portrait of day-to-day life in the bustees. In the best traditions of what has become an almost defunct form of journalism, the evidence is meticulously sifted and assembled in a narrative which is detached but profoundly disturbing' Jonathan Dimbleby, THE TIMES
'A vivid account...told without heavy-handed moralising ... This is a book artfully designed to grip the emotions. It does that job well, but it should also provoke sober thought about corporate responsibility in a global community' TELEGRAPH
'FIVE PAST MIDNIGHT IN BHOPAL delivers its horrific account with a frank and brave intimacy ... scrupulously researched, engagingly accessible and a commendable pinpointing of the lives that surround and succeed an international news story' AMAZON.CO.UK
'Lapierre and Moro's narrative of the Bhopal disaster divides its focus between the life of the company and that of the community, in particular the slum-dwellers of the Orya shanty, for whose culture and traditions the authors have genuine understanding and respect. It is a compelling story and is compellingly told in an accessible, popular style' IRISH TIMES
'I read this book twice. The first time quickly, because I had to know what happened. The second time slowly, because I wanted to savour the writing. Lapierre has taken a disaster of unimaginable magnitude and turned it into a sensitive, hopeful and inspiring tale. He is a superb storyteller who allows events to unfold gradually, through the eyes of the characters involved, against a vividly described background' JONATHAN SELF
'This is investigative journalism at its best, beautifully told and researched with a vengeance. We can all learn from this book' - Sebastian Junger, NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author of FIRE and A PERFECT STORM
'The true majesty of survival' PROFESSOR DAVID BELLAMY
'An impassioned howl of outrage at the negligence that led to the most horrific industrial accident of modern times. This is an important and long overdue book.' WILLIAM DALRYMPLE
'As a long-term environmentalist, I thought I already knew everything about the Bhopal disaster and its aftermath. In fact, I knew next to nothing - of the people, the city, the company, the causes, the continuing tragedy - as this extraordinary book has revealed. FIVE PAST MIDNIGHT IN BHOPAL is a deeply moving account of the world's worst industrial disaster - and is as relevant to us today as it was nearly twenty years ago.' JONATHON PORRITT
'You have in your hands one of the key stories of the twentieth century... This is not just another book, it's a crucial weapon in what will be the most important struggle of the century, which is the struggle of ordinary people to assert their fundamental rights in the face of the greed, power, cynicism and ruthlessness of huge corporations' INDRA SINHA, author of THE CYBERGYPSIES and THE DEATH OF MR LOVE
'Compelling, harrowing reading ... This book is quite unforgettable' THE BOOKSELLER
'Grim but compulsive reading. Painstakingly and compassionately researched, it is an apocalyptic narrative which works on a mythical level to embrace the reader in its horrific vision of somthing which has happened before and could so easily happen again. It is both a beautiful and a terrible book and must rank alongside the works of VS Naipaul and Rohinton Mistry as a portrat of the harsh reality of life for the poor in India ... A sobering account...that demands careful and respectful reading' WATERSTONE'S BOOKS QUARTERLY
'Dominique Lapierre and Javier Moro have written a compelling account of these events and the real people involved. You feel caught up in their lives and have to keep on reading even though you know the tragic ending. Everyone should read this book. It makes us realise that events that happen thousands of miles away in another continent, that we read about over breakfast and forget about by teatime, affect real people' newBOOKS.mag
'A moving account' BOOKS MAGAZINE
'The stories that are told, of herosim and chance, unimaginable horror and heart-rending dignity, move the reader to tears of rage and sorrow ... A compelling book that deserves to be widely read for the universal story of human suffering and struggle it conveys' TRIBUNE
'Reads more like a novel than a historical account' TLS
'I hope your book significantly raises the safety consciousness of managers in hazardous industries to a level where they can see the place that slippery slope is taking them' Warren Woomar - last American manager of the Bhopal plant
'This begins as a beautiful description of Indian daily life in the age of globalisation. So much so that you barely notice that the world's worst industrial disaster, which left thousands dead after a night of terror, does not occur till almost three quaters through its 400 pages. Forensic but forceful, this is investigative journalism in full flow' NEW SCIENTIST
Reviews from French newspapers and magazines
'A book which will shake millions of readers to a better understanding of the history of humanity' FAMILLE CHETIENNE
'A book which triggers a most useful reflexion on the interactions between the constraints of business, the respect of environment, and above all the protection of man' L'ENTERPRISE
'An absolutley gripping story built as film script' LE MATIN, LAUSANNE
'A thrilling investigation written with passion' VSD MAGAZINE
'A monumental saga full of humility' AFP, PRESS AGENCY
'A saga boiling with love, heroism, faith and hope' LE BAVAR
'A book which brings back in a staggering way the tragedy of Bhopal in all memories' TELE 7 JOURS
'The mad adventure of Union Carbide in India stripped to pieces with precision and compassion' LA NORMANDIE
'A formidable piece of research on the biggest industrial catastrophe of History' LE PELERIN MAGAZINE
'A spectacular epic with over 100 authentic charcters such as magnificent sister Felicity' NICE MATIN
'A haunting tale where the pressure rises slowly as the pressure in the fatal tank' LE PARISIEN
'This book reveals in an exemplary way the criminal undertakings of a major industrial group, in this case Union Carbide, which not only didn't measure the risks ran by surrounding populations, but also managed to escape all punishments' LE FIGARO
'A book which has all the fascinating qualities of Lapierre's previous ones' LE DAUPHINE
'A book which is one big cry in the name of humanity' GALA
'a race towards apocalypse written as an enthralling American thriller' MARIE-CLAIRE
'Lapierre and Moro examine like enthomologists the unfolding of this tragedy, describe its genesis, its protagonists, and its victims through a poignant collection of testimonies' NOTRE TEMPS
'a most remarkable investigation which draws a pityless indictment of a system, that of the richest against the porest' ELLE
'The authors analyse the diabolical correlation of a tragedy and address a warning to allo the apprentice sorcerers who threaten our planet' LE BIEN PUBLIC OF DIJON
'This is a staggering piece of research conducted with honesty and with no manicheism' LES ECHOS
'This is an inspirational and enthralling book' LIVRE HEBDO (Publishers Weekly)
'An epic that you read like a novel' LE TELEGRAMME DE BREST
'The story of a tragedy which also speaks of love, heroism and hope' FRANCE SOIR
'A saga as colourful as staggering' ICI PARIS
'Tols as the story of the Titanic but without any fiction, Lapierre and Moro invite us to discover extraordinary characters before pushing us with them into apocalypse' VERSION FEMMES
'"It was five past midnight in Bhopal" takes us into the India of the maharajas and the America of high technology to tell us the story of the biggest industrial tragedy of history' LE JOURNAL DE LA HAUTE MARNE
'Beyond an overwhelming indictment of Union Carbide, this book is a poignant epic about humble heroes' LE QUOTIDIEN DU MEDECIN
'A breathtaking stroy where we discover the daily heroism of the small people of India on the road to fatality' LE FIGARO MAGAZINE
'A book which we must meditate because it shows how men can suffer of the harm they are causing to the earth' OUEST FRANCE
'A boiling saga which will enthuse its readers' DAUPHINE LIBERE
'The poignant and disturbing tale of a dream which ends into a nightmare' LE MIDI LIBRE
'An extraordinary book on the border between literature and journalism. It should be read immediately and be meditated as a warning to future generations' URGENCES
'The poignant human adventure of all the protagonists and the victims of a chemical plant that was to be "as innocent as a chocolate fcatory"' LE JOURNAL DE ST-LOUIS
'A saga of love, heroism, of madness and hope with hundreds of characters, situations, and adventures' LE HARVE PRESSE
'Based on the portraits of hundreds of protagonists - engineers, inhabitants of Bhopal, doctors, workers - this book succeedsin putting together the implacable machinery which leads to the biggest industrial catastrophe of History. Thrilling. Unbelievable' LA VOIX DU NORD
'An hair raising account where easy profit, cynicism, contempt and negligence work happily together' L'EST REPUBLICAIN
'A stunning and tragic book full of breathtaking and dramatic episodes. A story written with poignant emotion' LIBERATION CHAMPAGNE
'A book which will give you goose pimples, which will touch your heart, which will provoke your anger and your compassion. Bon voyage to the land of horror and human fraternity' NICE MAGAZINE
'This book is not only the riveting account of a technological fairytale turned into disaster. It is also an enthralling hymn of love for the India of a thousand and one nights. In the great tradition of Lapierre's famed "Cit...